Young adult novel · Fiction

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

About the book

Narrated by Death, the story of Liesel, a foster girl in Nazi Germany who steals books and shares them during the war.

Reading notes

A long, literary novel for older teens; deals directly with death and the Holocaust.

This description was drafted with AI assistance and checked by a separate AI review against catalog, publisher and award sources on 2026-11-11. It has not been reviewed by a human editor. Report an error.

Recognition

  • Michael L. Printz Honor (2007)

Recognition is listed from the awarding bodies’ published records. How we verify awards.

Book details

Author
Markus Zusak
First published
2005
Suggested ages
Ages 14–18 (editorial estimate — children vary)
Reading mode
Confident reader
Topics
world war ii, books, death
Edition shown
ISBN 9780375842207 · Alfred A. Knopf, September 2007 · paperback
Catalog record
Open Library work record · edition record

Metadata verified against Open Library on 2026-11-11. Other editions and formats exist; ISBNs differ by edition.

Not independently confirmed by our AI review: the edition record; the suggested age range against a publisher range. Treat these details with caution.

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